Two recent papers show that during a critical early period of brain development, the gut's Microbiome helps to mold a brain system that is important for social skills later in life. Some form of this influence could be found in mammals, according to evidence.
In a paper published in early November, researchers found that zebra fish with a lack of a gut microbiome were less social than their peers with colons. They described the characteristics of the neurons that were affected by the gutbacteria in a related article. Scientists can now look for the equivalent of those neurons in humans.
Scientists have come to understand that the brain and the gut have a lot in common. People with Parkinson's disease are more likely to suffer from certain types of idiosyncrasy. Gastrointestinal disorders are more common in people with other neurological disorders.
The brain has an impact on the gut, but the gut can also profoundly affect the brain, according to a doctor who was not involved in the research. It's not clear how these separate organs exert their effect.
One of the principal co-authors of the new studies is Philip Washbourne, a geneticist at the University of Oregon. He and his lab were looking for a new model organism that was quicker and easier to breed than the mice they used to use. He wondered if we could measure how friendly the fish were and then asked if we could do this in fish.
Genetics research uses zebra fish which reproduce quickly and are social. They hang out in a group of four to twelve fish after two weeks of age. They are transparent until adulthood, which makes it possible for researchers to observe their internal development without having to cut them open.
The embryos from the line ofgerm-free zebra fish were being tested. Some of the fish were inoculated with a mix of gutbacteria. They had to start their development with a blank slate because they waited a full week before inoculating the last fish.
At around 15 days old, the fish that had been inoculated began to show signs of weakness. Judith Eisen, a co-author of the new research, said that when it came time for the germ-free fish to start, they didn't do it. The fish were not hitting the same social development milestones as their peers.
The fish's brains were examined by Eisen, Washbourne and their team. A specific cluster of forebrain neurons that affect social behavior was found in the fish that spent their first week of life without a Microbiome. The cluster had less of the immune cells that clean up the brain. The changes in the nervous system are large. That is a huge thing to me.
The team theorizes that a healthy gut is the reason for the growth of the immune system in fish brains. The microglia act like maintenance workers during critical periods. The social neurons of the germ-free fishes became overgrown without the help of microglia.
It isn't clear how the gut microbes send signals to the fish's developing brain. Any small compound could theoretically cross the blood-brain barrier if it were released bybacteria. It is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556
The social development of humans may be similar to that of other animals. Across the animal kingdom, social grouping is a survival strategy. Livia Hecke Morais, a research biologist at the California Institute of Technology, was not involved in the new studies.
In the past, Washbourne and Eisen had found similar social neurons in mice. "If you can find the same cell types between a fish and a mouse, you can probably find the same cell types in humans."
All Rights Reserved © 2024
